MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Where is the June Fuel Price announcement?

Dear Editor

With just 40 hours until the June 2022 fuel price changes, the ANC government is yet to announce the exact price consumers will be forced to pay at the pumps from midnight on Tuesday.

No doubt the ANC government is fearful of the growing backlash which is already building against this fuel price hike. And with growing realization of the exorbitant 33% tax rate on fuel, imposed by the ANC government, South Africans are right to be outraged and pushing back against any further price hikes.

Without the announcement of the June fuel price hike having yet been made, the DA repeats our demands to the ANC government to end the exorbitant taxes on fuel and show some care to the people of South Africa by:

  • Extending the temporary relief on the fuel levy, currently R1.50 per litre;
  • Better still, scraping the fuel levy entirely, saving R3.93 per litre;
  • Allowing drivers out of the unnecessary R2.18 Road Accident levy; and
  • Deregulating the fuel price immediately, so that competition can drive down prices.

In just 6 days almost 70 000 South Africans have signed the DA letter to the Ministers of Energy and Finance, backing the DA demand to slash fuel prices.

Now, as the country awaits the June fuel price announcement the ANC government finds itself facing a most critical and serious test: Will it show care, or will it continue to tax South Africans into poverty?

Regards

Kevin Mileham MP
DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

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The Oriental Plaza: A Phoenix in Fordsburg

If Johannesburg is a city of forced displacements, the Oriental Plaza is its most resilient response. While the Rand Club was built for the elite and Ponte for the “jet-set,” the Oriental Plaza was born from the trauma of the Group Areas Act—a piece of Apartheid legislation designed to geographically separate the races. Yet, in true Johannesburg fashion, what was intended as a tool of containment and financial ruin for the Indian community transformed into one of the most vibrant, independent commercial powerhouses in the country.

The story of the Plaza begins with the destruction of Pageview, affectionately known as Fietas. In the mid-20th century, Fietas was a legendary multicultural hub, centered around the bustling 14th Street. It was the city’s premier destination for textiles, clothing, and spices, where shoppers of all races would rub shoulders in a “jazzy, soulful” atmosphere. However, because Fietas was located so close to the white-only city center, the Apartheid government declared it a “white area” in 1962. The community fought back for decades, but by the 1970s, the bulldozers arrived. Homes were leveled, and the thriving traders of 14th Street were forcibly relocated to a purpose-built, modernist complex a kilometer away in Fordsburg: the Oriental Plaza.

The government’s intent was cynical: by moving the traders into a controlled environment with high state-mandated rents and strict rules on what could be sold, they hoped to break the back of Indian commercial dominance. The early years were devastating; many businesses folded, and the “Grand Bazaar” felt like a sterile warehouse compared to the street-level energy of Fietas. However, the traders refused to vanish. They eventually won the right to purchase their own shops, making the Oriental Plaza unique among South African malls because it is owned by the shopkeepers themselves rather than a corporate landlord. This ownership model changed everything. Without the burden of massive monthly mall rentals, the 360+ independent stores can offer prices that national retailers cannot touch, turning the Plaza into a “bargain-hunter’s paradise” that draws millions of visitors a year.